In Spite Of Health Care Law, Patients May Still Pay For Preventive Care

Main Category: Preventive Medicine
Also Included In: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance
Article Date: 03 Dec 2010 - 3:00 PDT

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Minnesota Public Radio: In principal, the new federal healthcare law "requires insurers to cover preventive care - including colonoscopies, mammograms and immunizations at no cost to the patient - no co-pays, no deductibles." The aim is to encourage people to get preventive care before they develop conditions that are more costly to treat, and while "Medicare will begin covering these tests 100 percent on January 1st ... for other plans there are myriad exceptions. ...

Some may still be on the hook for co-pays and there are exemptions under the new law for health plans that were in place before health reform took effect." Patients may become liable for co-pays "if screenings effectively become more involved," warned a member of the American Cancer Society. Robert Zirkelbach spokesman for trade group America's Health Insurance Plans said "health providers can also trigger out-of-pocket costs by the way they bill for these procedures and said the issue is a big gray zone." Meanwhile, "[c]onsumer advocates say patients shouldn't assume they'll enjoy these new benefits right away but should first check with their doctors and their insurer" (Stawicki, 12/1).

This information was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at kaiserhealthnews.org.

© Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.



Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.
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